HONOLULU--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gerry Rivero, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Coastal-Pacific
Wine & Spirits of America (CPWS) — a division of Southern
Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (Southern), the nation’s leading
wine and spirits distributor with operations in 35 states — announced
today a new appointment for the division’s senior management team.
Effective April 1, 2014, Rivero has named Ryan Sipe as Vice President,
General Sales Manager of Pacific Wine & Spirits (PWS) of Hawaii. Ryan
will be succeeding Frank Ashford in this role, and the PWS Hawaii Sales
and Trade Development organization will report directly to Sipe, who in
turn will report to Gerry Rivero.

Commenting on Sipe’s appointment, Rivero said, “On behalf of our entire
Coastal-Pacific Wine & Spirits team, I want to congratulate Ryan and
wish him continued success in his new role. Ryan is a proven leader who
will drive the implementation of the CPWS Transformational Priorities
and lead Pacific Wine & Spirits of Hawaii to become a world-class
organization. Ryan has been a part of the Coastal Wine & Spirits (CWS)
of Indiana team since our inception in 2010, and has been an
instrumental part of the team’s commercial success, as recognized on a
national platform by our supplier partners. I would also like to thank
Frank Ashford for his years of dedicated service to the PWS of Hawaii
organization, and wish him well in his new role as Vice President, Wine
& Spirits Manager within the Southern Wine & Spirits of Hawaii
organization.”

Southern’s Executive Vice President, General Manager Brad Vassar added,
“We are excited to promote Ryan to this Pacific role in Hawaii where he
can build on his successful experience in Indiana. We also look forward
to Frank taking his vast knowledge and experience base to the Southern
selling division in Hawaii. These transitions are truly a win-win for
both PWS and SWS in Hawaii.”

Prior to this promotion, Ryan was Director of On-Premise Sales for CWS
of Indiana, and held a key leadership role in the CWS of Indiana
Off-Premise General Market organization. He graduated from DePauw
University in Greencastle, Indiana with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Economics. Ryan and his wife, Brooke, will relocate from Indianapolis to
Honolulu.